Monday, July 8, 2002, 4:01:40 PM, you wrote:

>> In terms of ILL versus rush purchase of monographs, yes, a lot of collection
>> development and acquisitions is based on speculative use ... but that's
>> where skill, knowledge of collections and communities of users creates an
>> indefinable factor which cannot be quantitatively or qualitatively expressed.

RA> I'm not suggesting that patron requests should entirely take the place of
RA> librarian-led collection development.  But I do think that they could
RA> largely take the place of ILL with nothing but beneficial results.

I'm glad there is another realist around who isn't afraid to
experiment with new ideas. Of course collection development by
knowledgable professionals is important.  However, much of what we do
in collection development is filling in the cracks between what
various departments order.  We who are working with specific academic
departments also spend significant chunks trying to filling in the
cracks between the highly specialized interests of Professors X, Y,
and Z.  I work with faculty members in chemistry and physics, and
there are several who could each spend the entire budget for the
department with their particular specialized requests.

>> Some libraries are
>> not allowed have instutional credit cards which makes dealing with places
>> like B&N.com or Amazon.com next-to-impossible -- nor do those vendors have
>> everything in print immediately available, and items which are
>> out-of-print
>> or which are relatively rare because of short publication runs are also
>> difficult to get shipped rush. Rather than relying on a vendor's
>> concept of
>> 'rush' or on a true inability to be able to produce a desired item in a
>> short time, ILL is one sure way of getting what the patron wants in as
>> speedily as possible.

There are no universal answers for all libraries, or for all
materials.  However, many libraries do have those options, and many of
the books being requested on ILL are available quickly from either a
mass market outfit, one of the OP dealer networks, or direct from the
publisher.  (My wife just retired from being a librarian with a
Fortune 50 high tech company, and I can assure you that most
publishers will FedEx you a book overnight if you phone them and give
them a credit card number.  Yes, in her case cost was often no object,
but that doesn't mean we shouldn't at least consider all the options,
and use the tools that are appropriate for each situation.)

RA> Let me share with you the proposal I've submitted to the library
RA> administration here at Nevada:

Please let us know how it goes.

RA> When a patron makes an ILL request, instead of immediately pursuing a loan
RA> from another institution, we will forward that request to Acquisitions.  If
RA> a copy can be purchased immediately -- either from a standard new-book
RA> vendor or an out-of-print dealer -- we will buy it on a rush/notify basis.

Excellent.  We should all do that.  (And, yes, I'd have limits, since
there will always be those of us who worry about the "what if's" of
the world.)

RA> If a copy is not commercially available, we will send the request back to
RA> ILL and follow the usual ILL procedure.  In my experience on both sides of
RA> the library-vendor relationship, it is usually possible to get a book _very_
RA> quickly -- assuming you're willing to pay for speed.  This often means going
RA> straight to the publisher for in-print titles.

Absolutely, as I noted above.

RA> PRO

RA> 1. This will get most requested books to patrons faster, and they'll be able
RA> to check them out for the standard circulation period instead of the more
RA> restrictive ILL loan period.

This is a big plus.  In addition, you'll have the book in the
collection permanently.  If one person wanted it, that increases the
odds that another one will want it too.

RA> CON

RA> 1. This will slow down the processing of ILL requests, since they'll be
RA> diverted to Acquisitions before being processed. (Our ILL manager thinks the
RA> delay would probably be about 24 hours, though I think we could make it
RA> shorter; also, it should dramatically reduce the number of ILL requests we
RA> end up handling.)

Not a problem.  Most of the time taken up with obtaining books isn't
the day or two of processing, it is the shipping time (yes, except for
those who have a good courier system, and the item is available in the
courier network of libraries)

RA> 2. We would end up acquiring books that are of little interest to anyone
RA> other than the individual requestor.  (On the other hand, you could argue
RA> that we're already acquiring books that are of interest to no one at all.)

As noted above, I'll bet that half of the orders you ever get from
faculty are of interest to no one except the requester.  Yes, a few
will get assigned for class or end up on syllabi or bibliographies,
but not many.

RA> It occurs to me that we're now edging away from the scope of SERIALST, but I
RA> think the principle we're discussing has broad applicability to both
RA> monographs and serials.

Yes, the principles are the same.  And, just to keep it closer to
topic, I'll bet that for those faculty who want an entire issue, or a
number of articles from an issue, you might get some of those from a
back-issue dealer for less money and faster than you could get it on
ILL.  This wouldn't work for most article requests, but we all see
those where someone wants a "theme issue" or just multiple articles
from an issue.

Of course you could then get into the worries about whether or not
you'd have to keep the single issue so obtained, which could take a
few committees months to worry over.  Personally, for a single issue,
I'd give it to the patron, the same as I would the photocopies of the
articles if obtained through traditional means.

Personally, I think that "interlibrary loan" (or "document delivery",
or whatever other trendy name you wish) is all a part of "collection
development" or "resource acquisition" or other new name of your
choice.

cheers

dan

--
Dan Lester, Data Wrangler  dan@RiverOfData.com 208-283-7711
3577 East Pecan, Boise, Idaho  83716-7115 USA
www.riverofdata.com  www.gailndan.com  Stop Global Whining!